Into the Unknown
by Sir Bastian
Summary: This is the first chapter of a joint work of me and a friend of mine, who decided to try and write ourselves a story. This is a fantasy world, where the main races are Humans and different kinds of Anthros AKA half animal, half humans . Hope you enjoy!


**Chapter 1: At The Break of Dawn**

He walked through the dusty streets, looking over his shoulder just to make sure he wasn't followed.  
Narrowing his green eyes, peeking sharply into the shady alleys of the buildings he just passed.

Dragging his tail across the filthy cobblestones, the underside of his black and grey tail became soiled with the dirt of the large city. The agile young wolf-anthro looked to a certain grade worried as he stood there in the midst of the street, the large city buzzing with life this morning. More so than usual, in fact, that the young wolf felt it like the stone walls of the city was closing in on him, trapping him in a box with no means of escaping.

He suddenly blinked, a large, muscular, black fox shoving his shoulder into that of the wolf as he passed, grunting the words "Get out of my way, idiot.". The wolf quickly glanced around himself, the people walking past him gazing oddly at him. He mumbled something quietly to himself as he continued his stroll down the still-dark streets of the city.

He rounded a corner further down the street, and pushed open a creaking door, leading into a small, gritty-looking building with a battered sign hanging above the door, reading "Shane's Trading Emporium".

The door creaked shut behind him, his emerald eyes running over the cracked walls, the dusty-brown carpet giving off a faint smell of a rotting carcass, making the wolf wrinkle his nose in disgust, as it always did.  
"Ah, back again, Trenton? And what can I do for you this early morning?" A creaky voice asked somewhere within the shadows of the house.

A moment or two later, the flickering light of a candle making its way into the shop, illuminating the glass display within the counter, both the walls of the small building as well as the old raccoon having gotten a gloomy expression about them, the shadows dancing across the ceiling as a row of yellow teeth bared its way onto the raccoon's face in the form of a kind smile.

"I trust you are not here for pleasantries, are you, young Trenton? No, you never are these days."  
The raccoon tilted his head forwards, glancing at the wolf, still standing in the doorway, simply eyeing him over as the light reflected in his thick, dull horn-rimmed glasses, the smile fading from his face ever so slightly as he looked over the wolf more thoroughly.

Trenton was, mildly said, messy-looking. The cloth covering his paws soiled beyond recognition, the bottom part of his tail having turned from a pitch-black to a dusty grey color. His knees jutting out from large holes in his brown pants, held up by a black leather belt. Whether or not the pants had had another color at an earlier time was unknown to everyone, as they were now, mostly, covered in dirt and hardened mud. His short-sleeved shirt, once pearly white, now looked as if it and its owner had been dragged halfway across town on his back, and the other half on his stomach. His shoulder-length, messy black hair framed his now frowning expression.

"Maybe you don't know it, but I'm actually trying my best to come visit you as often as my chores allow it, Shane. You're an old friend of the family, you deserve as much. Don't think I've forgotten about you."  
The raccoon widened his smile, though a glint of another emotion was hidden away in the sly silvery eyes, behind the dull glass resting on his muzzle.

"Of course not, Trenton, of course not. So, what can I do for you this early morning?"  
Trenton snorted and stepped across the carpet, creating small clouds of dust in his wake as he walked up to the counter, swinging the satchel hanging by a strap over his shoulder onto the desk in front of the raccoon, whom lifted his brows inquisitively . "I told you, I don't want to be called Trenton, I want to be called 'Shade'. And I want to get rid of a few goods I've managed to get my claws on."  
The young wolf's muzzle curled from the light frown into a sly smirk as he brushed a hand across the dark-grey satchel, several silver goblets, a few plates and some cutlery spilled across the counter, the light of the candle making the silverware shine weakly.

The raccoon rested the iron candleholder next to the satchel as he picked up a fork from the small pile, lifting it up in front of his glasses, slowly eyeing it over with a trained eye. "Not a bad quality. Better than what you usually bring in here. This looks like something from the upper-class part of the city, if I'm not mistaken?"  
Trenton turned his head away from Shane, snorting quietly as he folded his arms across his chest, his gaze travelling around the display-cases placed at random around the shop.  
"Even if it were, it shouldn't concern you. All you need to worry about is whether or not I can sell this to you."

Shane heaved a wary sigh, shaking his head slowly from left to right as he placed the fork down besides the pile of silver, taking his time with brushing down his brown apron in an orderly fashion. "Of course you can, Tren- I mean, Shade. Do you want to trade it for something else, or are you in need of money?"  
Trenton held his gaze firmly against the wall, staring at it as if trying to deprive it of secrets only known to him as he muttered quietly. "I need a new lockpick. My old one broke. I'll take the rest in cash, Shane."  
He grit his teeth as Shane ducked underneath the counter, glancing to the pile of silver next to his satchel, staring at it for a short while before he grabbed the bag, pouring the remaining silver out of it before hanging it over his shoulder again.

Shane stood up again, placing an oddly shaped, small iron tool on the desk, looking mostly like an iron toothpick with a bent and flat head, however slightly longer. "You know, your mother would be disappointed if she ever found out what it is you do in your spare time. Not to mention your little sister." He glanced over the frame of the glasses, eyeing over Trenton with a knowing gaze, the young wolf seeming to stiffen at these words. Opening his mouth to say something, Shane interrupted him as he turned around and spoke himself. "I'll go get your money now, so you can be on your way before anyone notices anything… Shade.".

As the old raccoon slowly walked through the door sitting in the wall behind the counter, Trenton growled quietly to himself, clenching his fists, kicking a small pile of poorly stacked books, making them topple over in a cloud of dust. "I don't need his help… or his advice. I know what I'm doing, and I know –why- I'm doing it." He bared his teeth in another low growl, eyeing the tool on the counter. He unfolded his arms from in front of his chest, reaching down to pick up the lockpick with a soft sigh, pocketing it with a shake of his head. "I wish I didn't have to, but there's no sense in whining about something you can't change anyway. There's no other way than this."

Following a low thump from the other room, Trenton perked his furry ears, peering into the pitch-black darkness as the figure of the raccoon appeared in the doorframe once again, smiling his usual, carefree smile. "Thirty silver coins, counted over twice. I would pay you more for the silverware, but I'm running low on cash. Business isn't what it used to be and people seem to be avoiding my humble shop. Not that I mind the peace and quiet following, I simply wonder where they've all went." He shrugged his shoulders and offered the small sack to Trenton, nodding his head slowly.

Trenton wrinkled his nose slightly, knowing that the silver he had brought in was only worth about half of what Shane was offering him. He hated this. Pity. Pity was the reason he had started his thieving business, he was sick and tired of friends of his family took pity on them, gave them gifts while pretending they owed him and his mother something. He shook his head slowly and quickly snatched the bag from the raccoon as he hid it away within the depths of his satchel, narrowing his eyes at him. "I'll let it slip this time, but the next time, I expect to be paid full price, when I sell you my wares.".  
Shane bowed his head, nodding it quietly. "Of course, Shade, I'll make sure to have the money for next time."  
"Good." He replied, turning on his paw as he walked across the dust-covered carpet once again, resting his paw on the handle of the door, closing his eyes, letting out a frustrated sigh, barely audible to anyone but him. "And Shane? … Thanks."  
A soft smile spread across Shane's mouth, this time a genuinely warm, caring smile as he replied "You're welcome", saying this to the door as it shut behind Trenton, killing off the last ray of morning light having peeked through the briefly open door.

* * *

The market was buzzing with activity, even this early in the morning, the first rays of the sun only skimming through the buildings, hitting a few of the square's stands, showing off the green, red, blue and many other colored tents, each with a person standing in front of it, yelling out at the potential customers strolling casually through the maze of tents. The market never sleeps and there's always something for anyone here, as long as you take the time to look the right places.

With a hand clenched tightly around the satchel hanging by his waist, Trenton entered the market from the western entrance. He knew all too well about the pickpockets in this city to let his guard down. He was one of them, after all. The market seemed larger than usually, even though he knew very well that the market inside of the main part of the city was four times as large as the one in the outer rim of the city.

A light smile on his face, he strolled down through the narrow streets of the square, peering into the tents, which were filled with trinkets, gems, weapons, armor, birds, fish, inventions, useless junk and just about everything else the mind can fathom. The market square was filled to the brim with artists, performing for coins, food stalls, trying to sell their wares to the hungry people walking past, fortune tellers, gypsies, salesmen and regular beggars.

As he walked past tent after tent, he glanced to his left and his right, his ears twitching at the constant shouting in an attempt to pick up all of the salesmen, trying to get rid of their items. "Come one, come all, and see the amazing spectacle of the world's very first automated fur-trimmer! I will now demonstrate it on my assistant!" A tall coyote in a dark suit with a matching dark-green vest and a sleek, blonde mane of hair proclaimed, spreading his arms theatrically towards a female sheep, sitting on a chair with several sharp blades jutting out from its back on mechanical arms.  
Trenton laughed to himself as the sheep a few moments later ran off the small stage crying, covering her now bald head with her arms, quickly followed by the coyote, trying to persuade her into returning to finish the sale.

A sweet scent caught his attention, making him sniff the air around him, his tongue brushing out to lick his lips hungrily. "That smells… heavenly..". He smiled to himself as his stomach seemed to agree with him, letting out a deep rumble. He patted it and muttered "Alright, alright, I'll get you something to eat.".  
He followed the scent a few tents forwards before stopping in front of a wooden cart, standing up against a wall, with a lovely, young-looking, leopard-woman standing in front of it, in a tattered, slightly ripped brown dress, her tail coiled around her leg in an obvious attempt to keep it from becoming dirty, smiling a sweet smile as she took a step closer to Trenton, who in turn clenched tighter onto his satchel.

He knew about these tricks. Someone uses a lovely young girl as an eye catcher, while they steal everything the fool who would fall for this owns. "Can I interest you in a slice? They're fresh from the oven, and we have more than four flavors!" The girl chirped, fluttering her eyes at Trenton as she stepped aside, gesturing to the cart, filled to the brim with pie upon pie, stacked on top of each other.

His eyes slowly gazed towards the cart, widening them as he took in the scent of blueberry, cherry, strawberry and apple, the tip of his tail twitching eagerly, his stomach letting out another quiet rumble, making him cough in embarrassment. "… Yeah, I suppose you could. How much does a slice cost?" He muttered, keeping his gaze on the cart, his hand still tightly clenched onto his bag.

The girl giggled softly, throwing her head back to allow the long, orange locks of hair to rest on her back, still smiling to Trenton. Her smile unnerved him, because he knew that something was up by now. "A single slice is two silver coins, an entire pie is ten… sir." She smirked softly at him, tilting her head carefully to one side.

"I'll have a slice of blueberry.. then." He said, carefully opening his satchel as he reached into it, rummaging around inside of it. The girl craned her neck, trying to peer into the satchel, but Trenton turned slightly away, much to the girl's dismay, who stood down again, looking offended.

After a moment of rustling around in the depths of the satchel, Trenton pulled out two silver coins, offering them to the girl who picked them out of his palm with a sweet smile and a "Thanks." As she turns, starting to cut off a slice of pie with a small knife hanging from a hook on the side of the cart. He couldn't help but glance over her as she stood there, with her back turned. Her dress had a small hole where her tail was sticking out of and it looked like she was wearing cloth around her paws as well. "Well, of course she does. You would be unbelievably uncivilized if you didn't wear that, not even beggars bare their paws, if they are a true Basitin." He thought to himself, smiling a proud little smile. Trenton had always been proud of his heritage as a full-blood Basitin, the proud, civilized people, much unlike their feral brothers and sisters, the Keidran, whom didn't even wear paw-cloth, the savages.

He snapped out of his daydream as the girl turned around once again, offering him a somewhat large slice of pie on a napkin, smiling her sweet smile. "Here. Larger piece, for a cute guy. Hope you enjoy it." She added with a wink. Trenton accepted the napkin with a light nod of his head, murmuring a quiet "Thanks" under his breath, sending her a last glance before walking off, into the maze of multi-colored tents, his cheeks warm. He usually didn't get those sorts of compliments. Usually because he looked a lot worse than he did now. He had been lucky tonight.

As his thoughts whirred around the young girl, he continued strolling down the square, his gaze running across the interior of the tents and the items being sold by the hopeful Basitin and Humans. He sunk his canine teeth into the pie and sighed in content, the pie not lasting long after the first bite, his stomach rumbling in content. As he wiped his mouth from the last stain of blueberry with the napkin, his eyes caught a glimpse of something on a small stand between two tents, being looked after by a middle-aged human woman, smiling warmly up at him.

"See anything you like, son? The finest silver jewelry money can buy, is what I sell!" She boasted, showing off her small stand with a wave of her arm. Trenton smiled to himself. While disliking being called 'son' by a human, the woman had a certain motherly charm, reminding him of his own, probably still asleep at home.

"Actually… yeah. I'll have that one, the necklace." He replied, lifting a hand to point a finger at a silver necklace hanging from the side of the small, wooden stand. The woman nodded and picked it down, running a thumb across the purple jewel sitting inside of the plain medallion hanging from the chain. "Ah yes, this is a very special kind of necklace…" She began as Trenton rolled his eyes to himself, folding his arms over his chest. He knew these people and all of their "Special items", which were actually worth a lot but he so happened to be so lucky that he could buy them for something way too overpriced.

"This gem is actually a Recallingstone. It has a very peculiar ability, which enab-"  
"I'm sure it's really special, but I just want it for its looks. Can I please buy it and be on my way? I'm in a bit of a hurry." He interrupted; quickly adding a smile as the woman looked slightly baffled, being interrupted. She nodded it off and offered the necklace to him, saying "Very well, son. Its twenty silver coins. No more, no less."

Trenton thought about haggling with the woman but shook his head to himself, deciding he had to go, if he was to both do his daily round and make it home before anyone got suspicious of him. He quickly reached into his satchel and pulled out the sack of coins, taking away eight for himself and offered the rest to the woman.  
She took the sack, counting over the coins as he dropped his own remaining eight coins into his pocket, waiting patiently.

When she was satisfied, she handed him the necklace with a smile, putting the sack away. "Have a nice day!" She said, as Trenton had already turned around, half-running through the square, towards the east, lifting his tail slightly from the ground, so it wouldn't get stuck in a crack between the cobblestones.

He quickly hid the necklace away deep within his pocket as he sped up, running through the tents, jesters and salesmen, trying to reel him in with fancy speeches and gestures. He ignored all of them, breathing quickly as he dashed out of the square, all of the colored tents disappearing, to be exchanged with grey stone and light clay surrounding him as houses.

Not many people were up yet, however a few were walking through the streets, on their ways to work or home from the same, some looking lively, some looking tired, and yet again, some peeking out of the door before slamming it shut again, going back to their beds. Trenton didn't have time to look at any of the people he passed. If he wanted to do what he did every morning, he had to hurry, if he wanted to be home on time as well.

He turned a sharp right, dashing into a dark alley, the sun lazily shining by above the rooftops. He looked up and grit his teeth. He was going to have to move faster. He looked down again, managing to barely avoiding a flock of chickens apparently in a fight. He leaped over them and landed heavily on the ground as he dashed onwards.

As he was close to reaching the end of the alley, he lifted an arm to catch onto a window ledge, kicking off from the wall as he pulled himself up, hopping from one ledge to another, not bothering to peek into the rooms of the windows as he kept crawling up along the side of the wall.

He grabbed out for another ledge, but frowned as he didn't catch anything. Didn't matter. He turned his head and grinned toothily, eyeing a ledge on the other building. His muscles tensed as he pushes himself from the wall, jumping across the gap of the alley. "This is it. This is what I live for. This is why I do what I do. The rush! The excitement! I love it." He thought as he landed on the stones, breathing a sigh of relief as he continued to crawl further up.

His head peeked above the edge of the building as he crawled fully onto it, blinking his eyes in the soft sunlight greeting him from the east. He brushed himself off and walked to the northern face of the building, sitting himself down on the edge, smiling widely as he looked over the glorious city of Kehran, the capitol of the Basitin, bathed in the morning's first, golden rays of sun.

All around the city was a large, stone gate, protecting the city from intruders. To the north-east lay the harbor of the city, surrounded by a thin forest. Or rather, the very large salt-water lake, as Kehran lay nowhere close to the sea. To the north-west, the purple spire of the Mage's Guild arose, several lesser towers posed around it, forming a strange pattern. And resting firmly in the heart of the city was the Citadel. Its polished marble giving off a white shine, sparkling as the rays of the sun hit the walls of the monstrous building.

And sitting on the top of a building in the south-eastern part of the city, Trenton was, taking in the amazing sight before him, clouds lazily drifting past above his head, making him sigh happily.  
There's no place like home.  
A shame that someone like him, devoted to his race and hometown, was to be forced to abandon both in the near future.

"Right, that's enough of sight-seeing. Mother is going to be worried, so I better get going."


End file.
